With one another, not with other races, obviously. “So has your pursuit of sin here in the big smoke been a successful endeavor thus far?”
“Yes, though it is never a sin to either enjoy or give enjoyment through sensation and sex.” Amusement crinkled the corners of his bright eyes. “Though I do have to say, virgins are a bit thin on the ground these days. Unless, of course, you catch them young, and that goes against the moral grain.”
“A Fae with morals? I’m shocked!”
He laughed. “Some of us do have them. Not many, granted, but some.”
The conversation flowed easily from one topic to another, until it felt as if I were talking to a longtime friend rather than a stranger. Hours came and went unnoticed, although the wine was eventually replaced by coffee.
By three, the bar had lost a good half of its patrons, and the raucous, bass-heavy beat had been replaced by more intimate music.
“I guess I’d better go,” I said, more than a little regretfully. As much as I enjoyed his company, I was dead on my feet. And if I lingered, we would end up in bed together, but I was just as likely to fall asleep as enjoy myself. “Otherwise, this will roll into breakfast and if it does, then breakfast cannot possibly be classified as a second date.”
He reached across the table and took my hand in his. He turned it around and, with one finger, lightly traced the outline of my palm and wrist. Desire slammed into me, and breathing with any sort of normality suddenly became impossible.
“I do hope you realize,” he said, voice husky and passion burning bright in his eyes, “that I intend to seduce you senseless the next time we meet.”
My heart was hammering so hard I swear it was trying to tear out of my chest and leap into his lap. What Rory and I had might be brilliant, but it was also a necessity. While we both enjoyed flesh-on-flesh contact, it was something we indulged in with each other only occasionally. Sam might have accused me of cheating, but I’d been as faithful as I ever could be given the restrictions of my nature, and Rory and I had been strictly flame only.
“If you don’t,” I replied, keeping my voice low and sexy, “I’ll be very disappointed.”
His bright smile was filled with promise. “And we wouldn’t want you disappointed, would we?”
God, no. “When and where?”
“What about a late brunch? I can pick you up around eleven, if you’d like.”
Sam’s warning edged its way into my thoughts and I hesitated. Damn you, I thought. You’re not going to spoil this. I wouldn’t let him. “That would be lovely.”
I gave him my address. He rose, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet. “And now? Can I drive you home?”
I shook my head. “I always prefer to catch a cab home on a first date.”
“Then let me walk you down to the cabstand.” He picked up my coat and held it out so that I could slip my arms into it. His fingers brushed my breasts as his hands fell away, and delight skittered through me.
“I can smell you,” he whispered, as his lips brushed the base of my neck. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation. “I can smell your heat and your desire. It intoxicates me, sweet Emberly.”
I shivered, torn between the need to be safe and the growing hunger to take what this man offered. His kisses traveled up the side of my neck; then he gently nipped my lobe. A groan escaped. Mine, not his.
“Please,” I said, and wasn’t entirely sure just what it was I was asking.
He chuckled softly; then he stepped out from behind me, his hand sliding sensually down my back and coming to rest on my backside. His touch was almost hot enough to brand, and the flames inside me shivered and danced in response. “Shall we walk down to the cabstand?”
I wasn’t entirely sure I was capable of walking anywhere, but I nodded anyway. And the only thing I was capable of thinking was that if he could do this to me with a few softly spoken words and some well-placed kisses, then what the hell could he do when he actually set his mind to full seduction?
One thing was sure—I’d find out later today. And I couldn’t wait.
The rain had eased outside, but the night was still very cold. Not that I really felt it, protected as I was by the intense, animal-like hunger rolling off the man beside me.
At the stand, he didn’t kiss me, as I’d expected, but rather stepped away. He must have caught my surprise, because he gave me a lopsided, totally endearing grin. “Things, I’m afraid to say, are a little knife-edged at the moment.”
“A Fae in danger of losing his legendary control?” I said, in mock horror. “Unbelievable!”
He laughed. The sound rolled across my skin as sweetly as his kisses had only moments before. “I am so glad we ran into each other, Emberly. I’ll see you in”—he paused and looked at his watch—“just over seven hours.”
“I’ll be waiting.” I got into the cab, gave the driver my address, then twisted around to watch Jackson walking away, until we turned the corner and I could no longer see him.
The minute I stepped out of the elevator I saw the small red light situated discreetly above our doorway flashing. I stopped cold. That light said our security system had been breached.
Sam’s warnings came back in a rush, and I stared down the bright but silent hallway to our door with some trepidation. I might be able to protect myself both physically and with flame, but neither was entirely foolproof. And the memory of what had been done to the professor loomed large, a warning of what might happen if I acted stupidly.
I spun around and stepped back into the elevator. Once in the foyer, I called the cops, then sat back in the shadows and waited for them to arrive.
Only the cops didn’t. Sam did.
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. After five years of living in the same city but never meeting, we suddenly seemed unable to get away from each other.
I pushed upright wearily. “I thought you were intending to let someone else deal with me?”
His expression was as remote as I’d ever seen it. “We have your phone tapped, and I just happened to be close when you reported the break-in.”
Annoyance surged. I understood the reasoning behind tapping my phone well enough—as he’d said, I was the only connection now between the professor and whatever else his murderers might have been searching for—but that didn’t mean I had to be happy about it. But all I said was, “I’m already being shadowed by one of yours—why couldn’t he have handled it?”
“He’s a vampire. He can’t cross thresholds unless invited.” His gaze raked me. “I seem to remember you once saying that you made a policy of never doing that.”
I didn’t particularly want him crossing my threshold, either, but it wasn’t like I had a whole lot of choice right now. So I simply shrugged and followed him into the elevator. Which suddenly seemed entirely too small with his dark and brooding presence in it.
“Where’s your key?” he said as we neared the floor.
I gave it to him, being overly careful not to touch him. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything. When the elevator door opened, I followed him out, but was promptly stopped by an abrupt, “Stay here.”
I obeyed. He was the cop, not me. Not in this lifetime, anyway. I crossed my arms and noted almost absently that as lean as he was, he still filled out the rear end of his jeans rather nicely.
He carefully unlocked the door, then drew a gun from inside his coat and, with a speed that seemed almost unnatural, had the door open and was inside.
I waited tensely, shifting my weight from one foot to another, aching to know what was going on. There was no sound, no movement, nothing to indicate there was any sort of scuffle going on in there.